The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will attempt to undo an administrative error that led to the inadvertent repeal of a criminal-justice system overhaul measure approved by voters five years ago.

County voters in 2020 approved Measure J, which requires the county to set aside 10% of its locally generated, unrestricted money and spend it on jail-diversion programs and other social services aimed at preventing people from landing behind bars. The funds were intended to be used on programs such as job training, business development, housing services and youth development.

But county officials recently discovered a glaring error — the measure was never codified in the county charter. So last year, when county voters approved Measure G, which updated the charter to overhaul county government with changes including an expanded Board of Supervisors and an elected CEO, Measure J was inadvertently repealed.

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According to the county, without some type of action, Measure J will go away at the end of 2028.

“In 2020 the voters spoke loud and clear: They approved Measure J because they believed we needed to focus on care-first investments in our communities,” Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a statement. “Since then, this board has done exactly that by establishing the Care-First Community Investment policy. Now as we move to implement Measure G, it’s critical that we codify Measure J first to safeguard those community investments. One technical error should not invalidate the clear will of the voters.”

Hahn and Supervisor Lindsey Horvath introduced a motion that will be heard by the board Tuesday in an effort to preserve Measure J. The motion would instruct county attorneys to report back in two weeks on potential legal actions to maintain the provisions of Measure J, including possibly going to court to obtain a judge’s ruling verifying the passage of the item and ensuring it remains in place.

The motion also calls on county staff to explore possible changes in state law that might preserve the measure without the need to go back to voters to reaffirm Measure J. It would also direct staff to prepare a new ballot measure should it be determined that a new public vote will be necessary to re-enact Measure J.

The motion also calls for an internal investigation into the cause of the administrative error — and what steps can be taken to avoid any future oversights.

“In 2020, the people of Los Angeles County overwhelmingly approved Measure J to shift county resources away from incarceration and toward community-based investments,” Horvath said in a statement. “This measure was the result of a hard-fought, community-led effort that I wholeheartedly supported — and remain deeply committed to upholding. When five people are in charge, no one is in charge. This is a quintessential example of why the governance reforms in Measure G are so urgently needed.”